The Problem With Laurie and Me
by UnicornRainbows
Summary: Marcia's cousin, Laurie, is coming to visit the Bradys with her mother and little sister. Marcia and Laurie used to be close, but Marcia suspects that things are changing between them. How can they grow close again?
1. Coming Together

Summary: Marcia's cousin, Laurie, is coming to visit the Bradys with her mother and little sister. Marcia and Laurie used to be close, but Marcia suspects that things are changing between them. How can they grow close again?

"I've got good news," my mom announced at dinner.

"Is it something good?" my little sister, Cindy, asked.

"Are you having a baby?" my little brother, Bobby, asked.

"No. Mike, you mind if I tell them?" Mom asked, turning to face my dad.

Dad nodded. "I don't see why not."

Mom nodded back. "Well, I hope you girls remember my sister Shirley."

I vaguely remembered my Aunt Shirley. The last time I remembered seeing her was when my first father had passed away after his funeral. And that was only four years ago.

"What about her?" I wanted to know.

Mom looked extremely happy. "Well, she's in town today. She's coming with her two daughters! Isn't that wonderful?"

"Her daughters? That would make them our cousins, right?" my other sister, Jan, said.

"Yes. You see, her sons are going to be on a tour and they won't be able to go to it. Shirley called me the other day and asked me if they could stay here for a week."

"A tour?" I said, puzzled.

"Didn't you know, Marcia? Your aunt and cousins are in a band. They call themselves the Partridge Family."

Jan gasped. "Omigod! I had no idea Keith was in that group! He is so cute! And he's my cousin!"

"Who's Keith?" Cindy asked.

I rolled my eyes. I remembered Keith, my bossy and stubborn cousin. We were almost the same age and he was always getting me into trouble. Over the years, he'd grown up into a handsome and talented young man.

Cindy was only a baby when our dad took us into the Virgin Islands for two years before we moved back into the States. By that time, the Partridges had a daughter and son named Chris and Tracy and lived in Florida while we stayed in California. I was seven, Jan was four, and Cindy was two. My first dad had moved us to Mexico for three years and after that, we moved back to California. By that time, he got a call from his boss, telling him he had to go to the Caribbean for a year to search for a lost and ancient object. Mom didn't want to go anywhere else, so she decided to stay with us while he left.

On the way, his boat sunk and he'd died. During his funeral, Aunt Shirley came back from Florida with her children. There was Keith, Laurie, Danny, Chris, and Tracy. Keith and I were ten, Laurie was a year younger than us, Jan and Danny were seven, Chris was six and Tracy and Cindy were both five.

That's when I first met Laurie. I remembered her as a small, brown-haired girl with pale skin, very tall and awkward-looking, and average. She had glasses, clear braces, and always wore jeans. I was the opposite of her; I had tanned manila skin, taller than Laurie, and poised. My eyesight was 50/50, my teeth were straight, and I hated jeans. I always wore skirts and dresses (I still do, as a matter of fact.).

When we first met, we hated each other. We disagreed on everything. We always fought.

Mom and Aunt Shirley finally had enough and put us into dance class together. There, we saw each other everyday because Mom had moved into Aunt Shirley's neighborhood. From what I remember, the only thing Laurie and I had in common was dancing. We loved it when our moms dolled us up for our lessons. They even put Jan, Cindy, and Tracy in the dance class. All of us were dressed to the nines in our purple and gold lame leotards and slippers. On Christmas and Easter, they dressed us all alike. In fact, I still have many of those photos, but I've locked them up.

A year later, Mom met Mike Brady, an architect with three boys. Mom wanted to marry him, but he lived way too far away from our old neighborhood. When Mom married him, we all split apart. The Partridges wanted to pursue music and Mom wanted to get married again.

And that was that. We hadn't seen or heard from them in five years. Keith was seventeen, Laurie was sixteen, Danny was twelve, Chris was eleven and Tracy was ten.

"Mom, it's been five years, hasn't it?" I replied.

Mom nodded. "You remember how your Aunt Shirley and I used to dress you, Laurie, Jan, Cindy, and Tracy alike every Christmas and Easter? Oh, you girls were so adorable! All of you were the best ballet dolls in the world!" she gushed.

"Do you have pictures of them? I'd like to see those!" My older brother, Greg, asked.

I covered my face in my hands. "You _do_ not want to see them! Some of them are embarrassing!"

"The more embarrassing they are, the better you probably look!" My younger brother, Peter, quipped.

Everyone laughed except me.

"I remember those outfits. I agree with Marcia. Some of those outfits were kind of silly, Mom," Jan replied.

"I don't remember anything! What did the outfits look like?" Cindy asked.

I laughed. "Oh, Cindy! There was this one time, Mom and Aunt Shirley made us all wear bunny PJs for Easter. They had bunny ears on the tops of the heads!"

Everyone laughed.

"Oh, I just _cannot _wait to see Shirley! You guys will love her!" Mom said to Dad, Greg, Peter, and Bobby.

"Is she our Aunt Shirley, too?" Bobby asked.

"I guess she is, in a way. Hey, maybe you can dress Greg, Peter, and Bobby alike!" Jan hooted.

Peter made a face. "Thanks, but I think I'll stick with being different."

We laughed again.

"When is she coming, Mom?" I asked.

"Oh, I asked her to come tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes. I figured she and the girls would want to, because Keith, Danny, and Chris have to leave early in the morning. All of them are leaving the same day."

"This is going to be super cool! I can't wait to see them!" Jan exclaimed.

Mom put her napkin down on her plate. "Do you all have homework to do?" she asked.

"Yeah," we said glumly.

"Good. Let's eat dessert and I'll see if anyone needs help with something."

"I need help with my spelling, Mom," Bobby replied.

"And I need help with math," Peter said.

Jan brightened. "Let me help you with that. I'm a math wiz."

"Okay, great!" Peter replied.

"I think I'll go to my room now. I want to be alone," I said.

"No dessert, Marcia? Alice will have the cherry pie out of the oven soon," Mom said.

"We're having vanilla ice cream with it!" Cindy added, licking her lips.

"No thanks. I'm stuffed. If you all don't mind, I have tons of homework to do."

Everyone looked at each other.

"Since when are you so eager to do homework?" Greg asked.

"I just want to have some peace and quiet and do something that doesn't require a lot of standing up and talking."

And with that, I went upstairs.

Inside the bedroom I share with Jan and Cindy, I sat down on my bed and just thought.

_I wonder what would have Aunt Shirley coming back after five years. And how different are they now? I wonder if they even remember us._

I sighed. Then I went into the dresser drawer and took out my yellow nightgown. After I put it on, I took out my hairbrush and began brushing it at least a hundred times before going to bed.

I brushed my teeth, wiped my face with my cloth, and finally went to bed, not giving a thought about homework. I didn't even have homework, anyway.

I tried to stay awake but I couldn't. I fell fast asleep.

"BANG!" I heard a weird noise that sounded like something had dropped. Then I heard a person's voice go, "Whoa!"

Was it a dream? I looked at my clock. 3:20, it read. I yawned and stretched. I must have been really sleepy. It seemed like only minutes before I'd fallen asleep.

I got up and looked around. Both Jan and Cindy weren't in bed, which was weird, because Mom and Dad always had a curfew.

I opened my bedroom door and tiptoed to the stairway. Voices were heard. I peeked behind the wall.

Aunt Shirley was in the living room with Mom, Cindy, Tracy, Jan, and Laurie. Cindy was sitting in Aunt Shirley's lap, Jan was sitting next to Mom on the couch, and Laurie had Tracy in her lap on the floor.

"Carol, I'm glad you decided on having us over for the next couple of days. Traveling in a tour bus is very hard work."

"What's it like, Aunt Shirley? I mean, having to travel all across the country?" Jan asked.

"Exciting! We've been everywhere and seen everything! Once, we took a trip to the Everglades!" Laurie gushed.

"Really? Oh, that sounds groovy! I've heard of the Everglades, but where have you gone to perform?"

"Well, New York City, San Francisco, New Orleans, Chicago, St. Louis, Boston, Toronto, Ontario, Orlando, Miami, Montreal, New Haven, Denver…Oh, my. We've to several more."

Jan's eyes shined. "I would just _love _it if we could go to places like that! I've always dreamed of traveling all over the world."

Aunt Shirley smiled. "Oh, Jan! That's sounds terrific! Traveling is my favorite thing to do!"

Laurie tapped Mom's shoulder. "Um…Aunt Carol? Where's Marcia?"

"Still sleeping, I suppose," Mom told her.

"You want me to wake her up for you?" Cindy asked.

"Oh, sure. I've been dying to see her. Bring her down," Aunt Shirley replied.

"I'm here! I'm here!" I replied, running down the stairs.

"Marcia!" Laurie shrieked, running into my arms.

"Oh, Laurie! I've missed you! You look fantastic!" I replied.

"You, too! Oh, Marcia! I have _so_ much to tell you!"

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd come earlier," I replied.

"We were planning to do that, but the boys left early. Mom figured that'd we'd leave early, too. So here we are!"

I smiled.

"Marcia, you look absolutely gorgeous! You've really grown up," Aunt Shirley remarked. She hugged me tightly.

"And you look pretty, too, Aunt Shirley," I said.

I looked down at my youngest cousin, Tracy. "Aw, Tracy! You look sooo cute!" I shrieked. I gave her a hug and ran my hand down her long red hair.

"Hey, Marcia. Guess what?" Tracy said.

"What?" I asked.

"Mom got me a new bike!"

"Really? What color is it?"

"It's red and it has white streamers and I have a blue helmet for it!"

"Wow! You're very patriotic!"

"I brought it with me so I can let Cindy ride it, too."

I grinned. I always remembered Tracy being generous with anything she had.

Cindy's eyes lit up. "Oh, boy! That's super!" she exclaimed.

Jan put an arm around Laurie and me. "Hey, I'm really tired. Can we all go to bed now?"

Mom looked at the clock. "We sure can," she said. "Shirley, we have a den with a sofa-bed. Do you want to sleep in there?"

Aunt Shirley yawned. "Anyplace with a bed, Carol, will do."

"Hey, you can share the bed with me. Or we can all sleep on the floor in my room," I said to Laurie. "Jan, Cindy, Tracy, you, and me."

Laurie grinned. "We used to always do that," she replied.

"Well, we can do it now."

"Okay. Just let me get my stuff," she replied.

She walked behind the couch and retrieved her things. Her 'things' added up to about four suitcases.

"_Four_ suitcases? But you'll only be here for a week," I said.

"I know, but I can't leave all my important stuff behind. Can you help with this stuff? Most of it's fragile and I can't carry it all by myself."

I began to protest, but thought better of it. Laurie was my favorite cousin and I would do anything for her.

After lugging Laurie and Tracy's belongings in our room, all of sat down on the beds. Laurie was looking around the room, in awe.

"Marcia, don't tell me you sleep _here_?" she replied.

"Yeah, I do," I replied.

"_This_ is your room?"

"Yup. Why?"

"Why don't you have your own room?"

"I wish I did, but my mom and dad think that being together in a room is what brings people together. And besides, I don't mind sharing with Jan and Cindy."

"Well, I have my own room and Tracy does, too. I couldn't _live_ with my baby sister living with me in my room. All of us have our own room."

"Oh…well…that's nice," I replied.

Laurie shrugged. "What are we going to do tomorrow?" she asked.

"Well, my brother, Greg, was going to take us to the"

"Greg? Your stepbrother, right?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, super cool!"

"Yeah, he's a lot of fun."

"Is that him?" Laurie asked, pointing to a picture of us on a family vacation. She picked up the picture and looked at it.

"Yep, that's him. The tall one. The other boys in the picture are Peter and Bobby, the man's name is Mike, and the older woman is our housekeeper, Alice," I told her.

"Boy, I'll bet he's a lot of fun! He's cute!" Laurie squealed.

"Well, that's what the other girls in school say," I replied.

Laurie collapsed on Jan's bed. "I vowed that when I came here, I'd at least meet _one _guy in your neighborhood and it seems like I'll have my chance!"

"_Greg!_" I exclaimed.

"Maybe! Marcia, he's so cute! Look at him!"

"Laurie, I see him everyday and quite frankly, I'm tired of looking at him," I said.

Jan took out blankets. "These blankets are very warm! Mom knitted them specially for us!"

"That's okay. I brought blankets of my own," Laurie replied. She began digging into her suitcase and pulled out an expensive fur blanket.

"Oh, Marcia! I just realized that I can't sleep on the floor. It ruins my posture," she replied.

I frowned. "Well, we all don't have to sleep on the floor. I can sleep with you then."

Laurie smiled. "That sounds okay. Alright, we can sleep on your bed and the others can sleep on the floor."

Just then, Jan started sneezing.

"Jan, you got a cold?" I asked.

"No, I'm allergic to fur, remember?"

"Oh, no!" I exclaimed. I turned to Laurie. "Laurie, it must be your fur blanket. Jan's allergic to fur. It makes her sneeze."

"But I can't sleep without my blanket!" Laurie replied.

"Well, we can't have Jan sneezing all night either," I said.

"Well, I want to sleep with my blanket."

I sighed. "Laurie, look. It's almost 4 in the morning. I'm tired. We're all tired. You can sleep with your mother, if you want. But you have to take other people in consideration, you know."

Laurie got up in a huff. "Okay, okay. I'll sleep downstairs with my mom."

"Don't feel bad, Laurie, but" I began.

"It's okay, Marcia. I understand. I wouldn't want to hear Jan either. At least no one in my family has allergies."

And with that, she marched out of the room.

Jan stopped sneezing. "Thanks, Marcia," she replied.

"No problem. Now, let's get some sleep. We hardly have anytime to get some sleep. And let's not wake Tracy and Cindy, okay?"

Jan and I looked at the two of them, sleeping soundly in a huddle on Mom's knitted blue blanket.

Jan nodded. "Alright. Good-night, Marcia," she whispered.

"Good-night, Jan," I replied.

Jan fell asleep.

I looked at Cindy and Tracy one last time. _Why, that used to be Laurie and me, when we were younger. Why doesn't Laurie want to do these types of things anymore?_ I thought.

I yawned. I was too tired to figure it out. I went to sleep.


	2. Bragging and Flirting

The next morning, it was close to 10:30. Alice woke us all up for breakfast and down we went. First, I brushed by teeth and washed my face and brushed my hair. Then I got dressed and then I went downstairs for breakfast.

In the kitchen, Mom was sitting with Aunt Shirley and Laurie, eating.

"Morning, Mom. Morning, Aunt Shirley. Morning, Laurie, Morning, Alice," I said, sitting down. Tracy, Jan, and Cindy were right behind me.

"Good morning, Marcia. Did you sleep well?" Mom asked.

I yawned. "Not really. I need more sleep."

"I don't see why. I slept like a baby," Laurie bragged.

I frowned. 

"I slept well, too," Jan said. "And so did Tracy and Cindy. Right?"

Cindy nodded. 

"Yup!" Tracy agreed.

Laurie took a bite of waffle. "Aunt Carol, where are these men you've been talking about?"

I frowned again. I knew Laurie really wanted to meet Greg.

"They should be down here in a few. But now that we're all down here, I want us to get to know each other better. Starting with you, Laurie. How's school?"

"School's great, Aunt Carol. Mom just enrolled me in a prep school."

Mom looked interested. "Really?" 

Laurie nodded. "I'm learning all kinds of things. Like, proper etiquette and manners. Plus, I'm learning how to speak Spanish and French!"

Mom smiled. "Good for you, Laurie! I wish I could afford to send Marcia and Jan to a prep school, but it's too expensive."

"That's okay, Mom. I don't want to go to a prep school, anyway. I don't like them, anyway. They're full of snobs," I replied.

Laurie glared at me, but she didn't say anything. She drank her orange juice.

"Can I have some more waffles?" Tracy asked, holding up her plate.

"Of course you can!" Alice replied. She picked up Tracy's plate and put more waffles on it.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

At that moment, all the men walked in, still groggy and sleepy. 

"Man, talk about exhausted. I barely slept a_" Greg replied, stopping midsentence when he saw Laurie.

Laurie saw him at the same time. "Hey, you must be Greg. Marcia's told me all about you," she replied.

Greg nodded. "Yeah. And you are?"

"I'm Laurie Partridge, Marcia's cousin. You're Greg Brady, right?"

Greg nodded again.

Peter and Bobby jumped in. "And I'm Peter!" he said, shaking Laurie's hand roughly.

"And I'm Bobby!" Bobby replied.

"Uh, nice to meet you," Laurie said distractly.

Greg pushed his brothers away. "Don't mind them. They're full of energy today," he said.

"I see," Laurie replied.

"Do you mind if I sit next to you?" Greg asked.

Laurie shook her head. "No, I don't mind at all," she replied.

Greg took his seat next to Laurie while I rolled my eyes.

"So, Shirley, tell me. What brings you here?" Dad asked.

Aunt Shirley put down her coffee mug. "Well, Mike, my boys are out on a week long tour. The girls and me had nothing else better to do, so I thought 'Why not we go and visit my sister and my nieces?' I've always wondered what Carol was doing, all these years, anyway."

Mom smiled. "Well, I'm glad she's here. After breakfast, I'm going to a quilting bee with several of my friends. Would you like to come, Shirley?"

Aunt Shirley smiled. "I'd love to come! We can go now!"

Mom took her and Aunt Shirley's dirty dishes to the sink. "Alright, let's go," she replied. She kissed Dad's cheek. "I'll see you soon, Mike," she replied.

"Bye, Mom!" Greg, Peter, Cindy, Jan, Bobby, and I said.

"See you, Mom!" Tracy and Laurie said.

"Bye, you all! Be good!"

Mom and Aunt Shirley walked out of the kitchen through the back door of the family room.

I wiped my mouth with a napkin. "Hey, Laurie? You want to go to the_"

I stopped when I saw Greg and Laurie were still having a deep conversation about music. Laurie was staring at Greg dreamily. 

"Never mind," I muttered.

"Hey, Tracy? Where's that new bike you said I could ride?" Cindy asked.

Tracy got up. "It's back here," she said.

"A new bike! Neato! Can I see it, too?" Bobby asked.

"Sure!"

Bobby, Tracy, and Cindy put their dirty dishes in the sink.

"I guess I'd better go watch them," Jan said. She put her dish away. Peter followed after her.

"We had a band for awhile. We called ourselves the Brady 6," Greg told Laurie.

"That sounds super cool. How many records did you sell?"

"Only about 3,000 copies. And we had a top ten hit, too."

"Really? What was it?"

"Have you ever heard of the song 'Time To Change'"?

Laurie's mouth dropped open. "You mean the song that goes 'autumn turns to winter and then winter turns to spring'? That song?"

"Yeah,"

Laurie squealed. "My brother, Keith, tries to imitate that song. I had no idea you wrote it!"

I was singing it, too, I thought.

Greg nodded. "Well, I had no idea my song was such a trendsetter," he replied.

He and Laurie continued talking. I sighed, got up, and went back upstairs to use the phone. I dialed my best friend, Katie Lou Simmons.

"Hello?" Katie Lou asked.

"Hey, KL. It's me, Marcia," I replied.

"Marcia? Are you okay?" Katie Lou asked, sensing something was wrong.

"Oh, something's wrong alright. My mom's sister came last night with some of my cousins and right now, one of them is being a pain."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that, Marcia. Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah. Can you come pick me up? We can go to the rec center together."

"Okay. I'll be there."

"Thanks a lot, Katie Lou," I replied.

We hung up. 

After we hung up, I began fishing around for my bathing suit and towel and an extra outfit.

"Going somewhere?" Laurie asked me when she walked in.

"Yeah. I'm going to the rec center with my best friend. You have any plans?"

"Yup! Greg's taking me to the park today."

I frowned. "I thought you said you wanted to go to the rec center with me," I replied.

"Well, I guess I changed my mind. Marcia, your stepbrother is absolutely adorable! He's so cute!"

I frowned. "Uh, sure. I'm happy for you, Laurie," I replied.

Laurie grinned. Then she left the room.

After she left, I couldn't help but think that something was wrong.

"Are you ready to go?" Katie Lou asked later. 

I picked up my bag and nodded. "I have to tell Alice I'm leaving first," I told her.

I walked into the kitchen. "Alice, I'm leaving," I told her.

"Okay, you have a good time, Marcia. Be safe! And don't eat and then swim. It will leave you with cramps for hours!"

I laughed. "Thanks for the advice, Alice," I said.

I kissed her cheek and left.

"Okay, let's go!" I replied.

As we walked to the rec center, Katie Lou stopped suddenly. "Oh, Marcia! Look!" she exclaimed.

"Huh? What?" I asked.

Katie Lou pointed. "Look! Isn't that Greg over there?"

I followed Katie Lou's pointing finger. "Yeah, that's him alright," I replied.

"Who's the girl he's with? I've never seen her around here before."

"That's my cousin, Laurie Partridge," I said dryly.

"Wow! I had no idea you were related to the Partridges…Hey, are you Keith's cousin, too?"

"Um, yeah."

Katie Lou's eyes widened. "Why, Marcia Marie Brady! We're best friends! We're supposed to tell each other everything!"

"It isn't that big of a deal. And furthermore_"

Katie Lou beamed. "I'd love to meet Laurie. She's so pretty!"

I waved my hand. "She'd be too busy paying attention to Greg to notice you. She's been ignoring everyone else, including me," I replied.

It sounded a little bitter, but it was true. Laurie hadn't said a nice thing to me all day.

"I don't care. I want to talk to her, anyway! Hold my bag for me, will you?"

And with that, Katie Lou ran across the street to join Laurie and Greg.

I sighed and followed her. I made it just in time to hear her say to Laurie, "Hey, I'm Katie Lou Simmons, your cousin's friend!"

Laurie and Greg were having some kind of conversation. Laurie looked irritated and annoyed.

"What?" she asked.

Greg stopped talking. "Marcia! Katie Lou! What do you two want?" he demanded.

"Me? I don't want to talk to either of you. It's Katie Lou who wants to talk," I snapped.

"I had no idea you were cousins with Marcia, Laurie. She's so lucky!" Katie Lou rambled.

"Oh, well…Thank you," Laurie said.

"You know, I just bought the new Partridge Family album and I love it! Your brother's adorable!"

Laurie smiled feebly. "Well, that's what they say," she replied. She shrugged helplessly at Greg.

"I really love your voice. It's incredible," Katie Lou gushed.

Laurie grinned a little. "Well, thank you. I took voice lessons in Italy, you know."

I gritted my teeth. I'd had it with Laurie's constant bragging.

"Well, I had voice lessons in Switzerland," I lied. "My voice teacher said I was the best."

Greg and Katie Lou stared at me like I'd grown two heads. 

"But, Marcia, you_" Greg began, but I cut him off. "In fact, all of us had the same voice teacher. He was a friend of Mom's and was nice enough to let us in his class. Right, Katie Lou?" I asked, nudging her a bit.

"Um, yeah. You told me that."

Laurie looked interested. "Is that true, Greg?" she asked.

Greg looked at the sidewalk. "Yeah. One of the best. Hey, Laurie? Can I talk to Marcia for a second?" 

"Sure."

"Thanks," he replied. 

He grabbed my shoulder and walked ahead of Laurie and Katie Lou. "Marcia, why did you say that for?" he asked.

"Come on, Greg. Laurie has only been here for eight hours and already, I'm getting sick of her. Her and her constant bragging. Didn't you hear her at breakfast?"

Greg sighed. "Marcia, Mom was only asking her a little about herself. I wouldn't call that bragging."

"Well, what would you call it?"

"I think you're jealous of Laurie."

What? What did he say?

"What?"

"Marcia, just because she's rich and famous, doesn't mean you have to hate her. You guys are cousins, after all."

"I don't believe this. I can't believe you said that! I am not jealous of Laurie!"

Greg rolled his eyes. "Well, I really like Laurie. I'm not going to let you ruin my chances of getting to know her better. Whatever problem you have with her, you'd better fix, Marcia."

And with that, he turned around and grabbed Laurie's hand. "C'mon, let's go to the park," he replied.

Without saying good-bye, Greg and Laurie turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

Katie Lou beamed. "Isn't she amazing?"  She asked.

I grimaced. "Absolutely," I said dryly.

After leaving the rec center, I went back home. 

"I'm home!" I shouted as I came through the door.

Alice greeted me. "Hey, Marcia! Your mom wants to talk to you about something important."

"Really? What about?" I asked.

Alice shrugged. "You got me. She's in the den," she replied.

I nodded and went into the den. Sure enough, Mom was there, sitting in Dad's desk.

"Oh, Marcia! Thank goodness you're here!" she exclaimed.

"How was the quilting bee?" I asked.

"Oh, we had a lot of fun. We made three quilts today."

"That's great, Mom. Where's everyone else?"

"Well, Aunt Shirley wanted to stay longer at the quilting bee, Jan and Peter took Bobby, Cindy, and Tracy to the zoo, your father's at work, and …I don't know where Greg and Laurie are."

"They went to the park," I replied.

"Oh. Why didn't you go with them?"

I shrugged. "Didn't want to. I went to the rec center with Katie Lou instead."

"Oh. Well, anyway, I have an idea. I told Alice about this already. I was planning we have a party to welcome Shirley and the girls here! Shirley said she was thinking of moving in this area."

My face grew pale. I would be living near Laurie the Snob?

I had to grab a chair to prevent from being knocked down. 

"Isn't that great?" Mom said.

"Oh, it's…very super cool," I lied, flashing a false smile.

"Our party doesn't have to be big, you know. I was thinking that only we should be here at the party. It would the perfect way to welcome Shirley, Laurie, and Tracy," Mom bubbled.

"It should be great," I said with false cheerfulness. Mom looked so happy. I couldn't talk to her about Laurie. Mom seemed proud of her.

"I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap, Mom," I said. 

"Oh, I was hoping you would help me. I need to go to the store."

"Um, maybe Alice can go with you?" I said.

Mom smiled. "Okay, I'll ask her. You go get some rest,"

I smiled and went upstairs. In the bedroom, I went in my closet and dug out some pictures. The pictures were old, a lot of them. There was a picture of me when I was a girl, holding Jan a week or two after she was born. Another was of Cindy taking her first steps. I smiled at those and turned the page. 

Then I saw a picture of Laurie and me in one of our dance recital outfits. We both had the same matching pink tutus and slippers. The both of us were striking ballerina poses. I was the more serious-looking one and Laurie was smiling from ear to ear. In almost all the pictures, we were dressed the same. In one Easter picture, we were wearing the same PJs with those silly ears on them. In a Christmas one, we were dressed in white dresses with red and green polka dots with white flats and tights.

I laughed. Our moms always thought we were cute when we they dressed her the same. 

Those were the good old days, I thought. I put the album away and went on my bed and began moping.


	3. Forgive and Forget

"Marcia, which outfit should I wear? This black pantsuit or the knit sweater with the green bell-bottoms?" Laurie asked me the next evening.

I didn't bother looking up from my vanity mirror. "It doesn't matter. Whichever one you choose, I don't care either way," I said snootily. 

Laurie frowned. "Okay…Then I guess I'll wear the pantsuit. It's my favorite. I bought it in Paris."

_There she goes again!_ I thought.

"I have a suit that's much better than that. It's from Milan," I lied.

Laurie looked interested. "Really? It's authentic?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. My dad went down there and bought it for me."

"Can I see it?"

"I let Katie Lou borrow it," I lied again.

"Oh."

"Hey, my mom's letting me cook dinner today. You guys are going to be surprised," I bragged.

Laurie frowned. "I didn't know you could cook," she said.

_I don't, but you don't have to know that_, I thought.

"I can cook anything. Did I tell you I know how to make a killer biscotti?"

"No. I don't want biscotti. I can eat biscotti anytime I go back to Italy," she replied.

I gritted my teeth. "Well, I can make _real_ Italian pasta! Everything's authentic!"

Laurie licked her lips. "Good, 'cause I love _real_ authentic-tasting Italian pasta. Can't wait to taste it, Marcia!" she exclaimed, leaving the room.

I rolled my eyes. _Oh, who am I kidding. I can't cook and I'm trying to impress this snob,_ I thought.

I sighed and got dressed. After I got dressed, I went downstairs. Everyone was in the living room, talking.

"Oh, there's our chef!" Dad exclaimed.

"I can't wait to eat your cooking, Marcia!" Peter replied.

"I'm just gonna go get started. See you later!" I replied. I ran into the kitchen. Once there, I grabbed some pots and pans and put water in them and turned all the pilots on. Then, I grabbed the phone and called Katie Lou.

"Hello?" Katie Lou asked.

"Katie Lou, it's Marcia. Can you help me?"

Half an hour later, Katie Lou crept into the family room with the bags of Italian food. 

"Thanks, KL. You're a lifesaver," I said gratefully.

"What are you doing? I thought you were cooking."

"I lied about that. You see, I can't cook, but I'm trying to impress Laurie."

"I don't understand," Katie Lou replied.

I quickly explained the whole thing to her. 

"Oh! I see! You need some help?" she asked.

"You can set up the dishes and I'll keep the others entertained for awhile."

"Okay," Katie Lou replied.

I smiled at her and went into the dining room.

"Hey, where's the food. We're starving out here!" Jan demanded.

"Jan! Use manners!" Mom scolded.

"Marcia, what's taking so long? Is everything okay in there?" Laurie asked.

I shook my head. "No, the food's almost done. Why don't you sit down and relax. I'll be back in a few, okay? Alright."

I ducked back in the kitchen. "Hurry up, Katie Lou! They're getting restless!" I replied.

"Alright, alright. Here's the salad and dressing and_"

I felt something wet in the back of my pants. 

"Katie Lou, did you spill something?" I asked.

"Um…I spilled the dressing on both you _and_ me. I'm so sorry."

I sighed. "Okay, well…we're just going to have to go out there anyway. You come and help me."

"Why?"

"I can't have them, especially Laurie, seeing the huge ranch dressing stains on the back of my pants!"

Katie Lou nodded. "You're right, Marcia. Let's go," she said. The both of us grabbed the bowl and walked sideways toward the door.

"Hey! I'm back! And Katie Lou's helping me to serve the salad! Isn't that great?" I said. 

Katie Lou dug the salad tongs into the bowl and thrust the salad into bowls. 

"Here's some salad for Mr. and Mrs. Brady. Some for Ms. Partridge and Peter and Bobby," Katie Lou said. 

We continued thrusting salad into bowls. "And here's some for TRACY!" I yelled as some dressing trickled down my legs. Katie Lou and I continued walking sideways. When everyone was served, we turned around sideways and walked towards the door. 

"And your salad servers will be coming back soon!" Katie Lou and I sang. "Okay? Bye, bye, bye!" We closed the door.

"Whew, that was close. I'm going to change my clothes and then when I'm done, I'll let you borrow something of mine to wear, okay?" I told Katie Lou.

"Okay. I'll be waiting."

"Okay, that was weird," Peter remarked.

"I'll say," Greg agreed.

"Marcia's never done that before, has she?" Tracy asked.

Laurie got up out of her seat. "I don't know, but I'm going to check on her," she replied.

She got up and walked into the kitchen.

Katie Lou was in there, sitting at the counter.

"Um, where's Marcia?" Laurie asked.

Katie Lou looked startled. "Um, she's…in the process of….she forgot to buy the pasta, so_"

"Then why is there a bowl of cooked pasta in this bowl?"

"Um, it's overcooked?"

Laurie frowned. "What's going on?" she asked.

I came into the kitchen, in a clean outfit. I stopped dead when I saw Laurie in the room.

"Stall her!" I mouthed to Katie Lou. Katie Lou just shrugged. Laurie turned around and looked at me.

"I'd like to know what's going on," she demanded.

Mom, Dad, Aunt Shirley, and Greg came in.

"Marcia, you changed clothes?" Mom asked.

Aunt Shirley picked up one of the bowls. "These are resturant containers. I thought you were cooking, Marcia," she replied.

"We came to see what was taking so long. Marcia. What is going on?" Dad demanded.

"That's exactly what I'd like to know," Laurie replied.

I groaned. "This is all a joke, okay? Just like this dinner. I wanted to impress Laurie and instead, this was all a joke. And I'm sick of it. I'm sick of lying and sneaking behind people's back. I'm sick of trying to impress people. Hey, Greg," I replied, grabbing his hand and interlocking it with Laurie's. "You want her? Take her. Laurie's more happy with you anyway. I gotta go."

I ran out of the room and ran upstairs to the bedroom.

"Marcia, wait! I_" Greg began to go after me, but Laurie stopped him.

"No. That's my cousin up there. I think _I _should talk to her."

I grabbed a magazine off the shelf and flipped through it, not really reading it.

When Laurie came in, I got up and walked into my closet.

"I think we need to have a talk," she replied.

"Like what?  Are you going to tell me about your ex-boyfriend in Stockholm? Or your prep school? I don't want to hear any of it," I snapped, glaring evil daggers at her, trying to hide my tears.

Laurie sighed. "Look, Marcia, I know we got off on the wrong foot and_"

"You won, okay? I lied about everything. I don't own an outfit from Milan. I don't have a voice teacher in Switerzland and I can't cook. I was only trying to impress you because you have everything," I said, leaving to go to the connecting bathroom my sisters and brothers and I share.

"Whoa, who said I have _everything_? You're the one with everything," Laurie argued. She followed me to the bathroom.

"But I don't shop in Europe, I don't live in a mansion, I don't have fans, and I don't have a lot of money like you do!" I replied.

Laurie shook her head. "Marcia, I'd trade all that for _this_! Sometimes, I envy you. You get to go to school everyday, you have a best friend, you have a mother who's not busy almost all the time, a stepfather who loves you, and you get to stay in the same place and same neighborhood. I don't have any of that and I wish I did. I barely have any friends because we move a lot.  In fact, I lied about the prep school and the voice lessons in Italy. _I _was tryingto impress _you_ because you have the better life. So, you win. Not me."

"Wait a minute. All of that stuff you told me, were all _lies_?"

"Yup. Marcia, I'm sorry, but I was trying to impress you because I wanted you to like me. I don't even have an ex- boyfriend in Stockholm. In fact, I don't have one at all. I'm sorry I lied to you."

"You mean, we wasted all our teenage years trying to impress each other when we could have been friends?" I asked.

Laurie nodded. "What do you say? We start all over?"

I nodded, tears rolling down my face. Laurie opened her arms for a hug and I gladly reached for them.

"I take that as a yes?" she asked.

"Absolutely," I replied, smiling.

Back downstairs, Laurie and I were both sharing a huge gallon of ice cream together.

"Hey, you remember when I told you about the German car I bought?" Laurie asked me.

"What about it?" I asked.

"Made it up!" Laurie exclaimed.

We laughed.

Katie Lou came into the kitchen with Greg. "Hey, Marcia? I have to go now. My mom wants me home."

I smiled. "No problem. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Katie Lou grinned. "Great! Good night!" she replied, closing the door behind her.

Greg grabbed a spoon and dug out some ice cream and put it into a bowl. He looked grumpy.

"Why so grumpy, Greg?" Laurie asked.

Greg didn't answer.

I whispered in Laurie's ear. "I think he wants you to kiss him!" 

Laurie grinned. "Should I?" she asked.

"You know you want to!"

She nodded. Then sauntered over to him and planted a long, loving, kiss on his lips. Then she walked away, giggling. I ran after her.

We took a peek. Greg had his hand placed gently on his lips. "I'm never washing these lips again!" he declared, walking away dreamily.

Laurie and I highfived each other. 

"Hey, you want to look at those pictures?" I asked.

Laurie grinned. "The pictures our moms took of us? Oh, man!" she said, covering her face in her hands.

"I want to see them, too!" Jan piped up.

"Us, too!" Tracy and Cindy shouted shrilly.

Laurie and I giggled. "We all can. C'mon., they're up in my room," I replied. 

All of us walked upstairs into the room. I took the pictures out and spread them out in front of everyone.

"Oh, my God! Look at little Tracy, all dressed up for Easter!" Laurie teased.

Tracy snatched the picture from her sister. "I think I look pretty!" she replied.

"Yeah, she does," Jan said, jumping to her defense.

"Hey, look at Jan at the dance recital! Remember the apple juice?" I asked.

In the picture, Jan was four years old and had a apple juice stain all over her white leotard.

Jan giggled. "Hey, it was an accident!" she replied.

Everyone burst out laughing. "I like this one, the one where Mom and Aunt Shirley had all of us sitting on this park bench in the same Easter outfits," Cindy said.

I giggled. "The outfits _do _look cute, though," I remarked.

"Very cute, indeed," Jan agreed.

Laurie looked around. "You know, I'm glad we're all here, because I want to say something."

"What?" I asked, curiously.

"Well…I think we all should get together like this sometime soon. My mom wants us to move here close to you guys. She's sick of moving around. She wants to have a place to settle down in, so we have a house being built near you guys here in L.A!"

"Wow! That's great! I'm happy for you guys!" I exclaimed.

Laurie grinned. "I knew you would. You know, our moms' maiden names was Edwards. Tracy and I may be Partridges and you guys may be McCoy-Bradys, but I think we're Edwardses at heart."

"I agree," I said.

"Me, too," Jan piped up.

Cindy and Tracy nodded.

"We're cousins _and_ friends! We gotta stick together!" Jan replied.

We pulled one another in a group hug, laughing and giggling together.

The End


End file.
